The Mando Grudge
by Ba'slan Shev'la
Summary: A million credit bounty is nothing to scoff at, and when a young Mandalorian learns that it's for the man that killed his parents, he's more than willing to travel across the galaxy to find him and bring him to justice.
1. Chapter 1

_AN: words in italics are either thoughts of the main character or words in Mandalorian. for questions regarding the translation of a Mandalorian word, check the mandoa ( .org) website_

**Chapter 1**

Ayaan was crouched silently, willing his breathing to slow. He was in a hidden compartment in his closet; built by his father for him. The same father that had just handed him a heavy metal box and told him to hide.

It was dark. He couldn't see anything other than the dim glow of the biometric finger scanner on the box. Ayaan was terrified. _Daddy hasn't told me to go hide when we're inside before. We only train outside._

He heard the thumps coming from his parent's room, and he held his breath, trying to listen closer. It sounded like his parents were getting things from their closet. _That's where they keep the weapons. Why would they need weapons for stealth training? _That's what Ayaan assumed this was; another round of training.

There was a loud bang. It sounded like it came from the front door. Suddenly, Ayaan knew that was happening. _Daddy told me this could happen someday. The Imperials are here; they want to hurt us._

Ayaan wanted to help fight. He hated that his dad told him that he was too young, but there was no doubt in his mind that he had to obey his father and stay hidden. His father always knew best.

He hoped that they wouldn't find him in here before his parents killed them all. He realized now that he had no weapons, and looked at the box in his hands. _Maybe it's a weapon, something to keep me safe._

He could hear people coming down the hallway towards them. He heard a distinctive clunk from his parent's bedroom. It was the sound of the final piece of a Mark II Repeating Blaster Cannon being slotted into place.

The sound of the weapon filled the house. There was screaming now, and Ayaan felt a brief pang of sadness for the people that would die today. But he knew that his daddy was doing what he needed to do to protect them.

The sound of the repeating blaster lasted almost a full minute, but Ayaan knew that his dad's resistant wouldn't last much longer. The Imperials had numbers on their side, and his parents didn't have very much time to repair. The power pack on the repeating blaster wouldn't last much longer, and then it would have to be swapped out.

There was a sudden gap in the shooting, which was followed by an explosion that came from the direction of his parent's bedroom. Ayaan felt tears begin to well up behind his eyes, but he fought them down, just like his father had taught him to. You couldn't cry in the middle of a battle; that would get you killed.

He heard much less noise now. There were people moving down the hallway towards his parent's room, but Ayaan could tell that there were no more than five of them. _They're going to search the rest of the house. They're going to find me._

Ayaan pressed is finger against the fingerprint scanner on the box and watched the screen light up. After a short second, the scanner flashed green and a panel slid open on top. A statement flashed on screen. It was in a language other than basic composed of strange symbols, but he knew it just as well as he knew basic.

The statement was incomplete, and he could tell that he was meant to fill it in. _Verd ori'shya __. A warrior is more than his _. He typed in the last word with an on-screen keypad, which was also composed of the symbols. _Beskar'gam_. Armor. A warrior is more than his armor.

The keypad retracted, and the case hissed open quietly. Inside were two large blasters, along with five energy cartridges for each.

Ayaan picked up one of the cartridges, examining it. _It looks like it's fully charged._ He put it down, choosing now to examine the blaster. It looked to be in working order, but was too large for him to grip it in one hand like the manufacturers had intended. He looked at the side, noting something printed in small Mandalorian characters. He automatically translated it in his head. _Mandalorian Heavy Blaster._

He slotted the power pack into the receiving end of the blaster, hearing it fasten into place with a satisfying metallic click.

They were close now, he heard them step in to the room.

"Search the whole house, leave no survivors. These are the enemy, these are the swine of the galaxy, and they must be exterminated!" A man's voice boomed. It was distinctive, and compelling. Ayaan could immediately see how men could follow him into battle. He sounded as if he knew exactly what he was talking about, and it made people listen to him.

"Yes commander Thek." one of the clones said.

They were coming towards the closet, and Ayaan clutched the pistol tighter; pointing it towards the small panel that he was hidden behind.

Suddenly, Ayaan could hear shooting in the house; and lots of it. He listened carefully, trying to figure out who was shooting. The shooter moved from the area around the front door and into the hallway. He could tell that they were professionals, not like the clones. This shooter only had to fire once.

Thy mystery shooter was in the room now, and Ayaan heard a clone scream and a thump as he hit the floor. He held his breath.

"You can come out now," a man's voice said. "Don't worry, we're not going to hurt you. You're safe now."

Ayaan looked at the blaster in his hand, and then at the panel in front of him. The panel started to move, and Ayaan gripped the blaster tighter. _They're not going to hurt me, they killed the bad Imperials._

He saw a gun pointed in his direction and fired on instinct. His training in the hands of his father pair off well; and all three of his shots landed exactly where he had meant for them to go. Two hit in the center of the man's chest plate, and the last hit the man squarely in the center of his helmeted forehead, doing absolutely no damage to the hardened _Beskar'gam._

The man was blown back several feet, but relatively unharmed despite the extremely powerful shots. His armor now bore three marks of blaster scoring, but hadn't been penetrated in the slightest.

"I already told you that I wasn't going to hurt you," the man said with a small laugh. He got up from where he was seated on the floor, the three shots having caused him to fall heavily on his bottom. "That was some stellar shooting though. Would've slotted anything but a true Mando; we're a lot tougher to kill."

"I'm sorry, I saw a blaster and panicked." Ayaan apologized.

"Don't worry, that's perfectly understandable." The man said. "Especially with the rough day you've been having. My name is Kiran Sev'laya, and I'm not going to hurt you, don't worry."

"I'm Ayaan Vikram. What's going to happen do me?" Ayaan asked.

"Well, you know your parents are dead." Kiran stated. This was a fact, and Ayaan did know. It wasn't unexpected for him to state it this way, as Mandalorians were often blunt.

"Yes."

"Well, we're going to take you with us. I'm going to adopt you, as per Mandalorian cultural standards, and raise you as my son if that's alright with you."

"You seem nice," Was all Ayaan could think to say. "I would appreciate it if you would take me in."

Ayaan knew that someone would have to; he was too young to take care of himself. _He seems nice enough._

"Let's go. Would you like to look through your father's things and keep anything?"

"No, I have what he gave me. And I'd like to keep my _Beskar'gam._"

"That's reasonable, we'll bring it with us. Why aren't you wearing it?"

"I didn't have time to put it on before they came." Ayaan explained.

"That's understandable, they come fast when they want you dead; they can't afford to leave you time to prepare. You should go ahead and put it on now though. It might get a little hectic on the way back to our home."

"Okay," Ayaan said, having no desire to argue with the man that was clearly there to rescue him. He quickly pulled on his bodysuit, then attached the armored plates. The helmet came last, and he watched as the HUD flickered to life, then took several seconds to connect to the weapon in his hands.

"What sort of blaster is that?" The man asked him, "I don't know that I've seen one of those before, and I've seen just about everything."

"I'm not sure, _buir_ gave me a box with two of them in it and told me to hide."

"May I see one?" Kiran asked, gesturing towards the unloaded one that was still in the box.

Ayaan nodded and Kiran picked the blaster up, examining it closely.

"This is a Mandalorian Heavy blaster. I didn't know that any of these still existed. They saw a good bit of use during the Old Sith Wars around two thousand standard years ago, but the need to produce such heavy weapons for an army of Mandos diminished over time. These must have been passed down through your clan for generations."

"I think _buir _said something like that once. But we were the last of the Vikram clan. He told me that they were really powerful. But that was a long time ago, and I haven't seen them again until now."

"People used to claim that they could shoot through the plating on star ships. Of course, that's not true, but it's not far off either. They're extremely powerful."

"Not powerful enough to shoot through your _Beskar'gam_." Ayaan commented.

"Well, that's a testament to the strength of _Beskar._ Not even a lightsaber can cut through it once it's been shaped by Mandalorian metal smiths. And I'm sure that the focusing lens in the blaster needs to be cleaned off after all this time." The man said, chuckling slightly. "Now hurry up and get anything you want to keep, we don't have much time."

Ayaan did as he was told, grabbing one of the knives that his father had given him and slotting it into its sheath under his arm.

"Are you going to adopt me?" he asked, knowing that this was a common practice when taking in young boys in similar situations to his.

"I was going to if you'd like. But I suppose I don't have to." Kiran told him.

"I think I'd like that. You seem really nice. What's my new name going to be?" Ayaan asked, referring to another custom when taking in young boys.

"Slow down now, first thing's first." Sev'laya said. "_Ni kar'tayl gai sa'ad_."

Just like that, it was done. Those four words, roughly meaning 'I know your name as my child,' were the Mandalorian adoption vows, and were as binding as any legal papers were in other sectors of the galaxy. It was final now, Ayaan Vikram was the child of Kiran Sev'laya.

"You will now be known as Phex Sev'laya." The man, now his _buir, _told him. Ayaan was now Phex. He let the name float around in his head for a little while, then decided that he liked it.

"Come on, it's time to go." _Buir_ said. Phex followed him out of the room, but stopped before passing his parent's room. He looked inside, seeing their bodies crumpled against the far wall; their armor covered in thermal scoring from the grenade that had killed them. He stepped into their weapons closet, seeing that it was almost entirely intact.

"Don't worry about taking that stuff, we'll have someone collect it and put it into storage until you're old enough to fully inherit it." _Buir _said.

"Okay," Phex said. He left the room and looked down the hallway. Over a dozen clones laid there, mown down by his parents in their final stand. They stepped over them on their way out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"That was perfect, almost as good as I could have done at your age." Ordo commented after seeing Phex move through the training course that he had set up for him that day.

"Really? I thought that my sprint was lacking, I felt like I was just a tad bit too slow." Phex replied, shocked to hear that level of praise from Ordo, who over the last nine years had been just as critical as supportive in training.

"No, it was just under your best time. You set your new record on everything today. I don't know how much more I can teach you."

This statement came as a shock to Phex. Ordo had been training him in every form of combat since, well, since he had been adopted by Kiran almost ten years ago.

"The only thing that I could possibly teach you that I haven't already would be a little more about Mandalorian history. But I think that you know almost everything that there is to know about that."

"Why do you say that?" Phex asked.

"Well, for example, you know that the Mandalorians nearly won the Mandalorian Wars over two thousand years ago."

"Of course, it was one of our greatest achievements. But I'm still not sure about why we lost. I just know that it was extremely sudden."

"Well, that's half the story. Let's head inside and get something to eat and I'll teach you everything there is to know about that." Ordo said, walking towards the nearby structure.

Phex followed him inside the Sev'laya clan home, which was designed to reflect a traditional _vheh'yaim_; a circular structure partially submerged in the ground made of wood and mud, which was intended to be a temporary living structure that could be abandoned in an instant with no loss. The home was fairly large and contained several families from the Sev'laya clan. Other families, small and closely tied to the Sev'laya clan, lived nearby within sight of the main house.

Phex followed Ordo into the kitchen where he watched him root around in the refrigerator for a moment before finding what he was looking for. Phex had never seen a man as old as Ordo smile so happily about _uj'alayi_, or uj cake. It was a sticky, sweet cake made of crushed nuts, fruits, and a spiced syrup. It was a mainstay at nearly all family and clan gatherings as a desert, and a delicacy for soldiers.

Ordo had told him once that his father had given it to them once while they were growing up on Kamino, but Phex still didn't quite get why he felt that it was such a delicacy now that he could have it whenever he wanted.

"So, how's Besany?" Phex asked as he was eating.

"She's doing good. She likes the place that she started working."

"Oh, you didn't tell me that she was getting a job." Phex said.

"Well, I didn't really know myself until recently. Of course, we don't need the money, but she wanted to do something part time to get her out of the house. She's working with a lot of the people that lost their homes to the Empire, helping them figure out how they're going to rebuild. It's tiring work, but not beyond her."

"Well, I would expect not. She's really smart." Phex commented.

"Yeah, she is." Ordo replied, beaming. "And someone has to clean up the mess that that bastard Thek left behind."

"Thek?" Phex said, trying to think back. He was sure he knew that name, but couldn't quite place where. Suddenly it came to him; "I know that name, he was there the day my parents were killed."

"Xiarr Thek was? I'm not surprised, he's killed many Mandalorians. He was one of the most ruthless Imperial commanders that we've ever encountered, and he couldn't be killed."

"What do you mean?" Phex asked.

"I mean that he fought Mandalorians on Mandalorian land for fifteen years and no one was ever able to touch the man. He's a spectacular fighter, and an even better commander. He left Mandalore along with the rest of the Imperials a few years ago when they were pushed out, but he himself was never defeated in combat."

"Is he still alive? I would think that someone would be disgruntled enough to set a bounty on his head."

"Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. It doesn't matter. There's no reason to go out and risk your life in Imperial space just to kill him."

"But someone should, he killed all those Mandalorians!"

"Maybe someone should, maybe not, maybe it's irrelevant because no one pays high enough to risk it. and revenge killings aren't always a good thing, people that you target out of revenge are more dangerous to you than people that you may fight for any other reason. You get angry, your mind clouds, your fighting skill decreases, and you die. And you're only sixteen, you should be here training, not out there fighting!"

"But most Mandalorian kids are considered adults at sixteen, and even go out and start fighting in wars!"

"No, no buts. And Mandalorians aren't strong enough right now to engage in a war, the only thing we're useful as are mercenaries and bounty hunters. How about that history lesson I promised? The reason the Mandalorians were defeated and unable even to rally themselves back together."

"Okay," Phex said with a sigh, accepting Ordo's scolding for the time being.

"Good," Ordo said, clasping his hands together and launching into his educational spiel. "So, initially it was just the Republic that we had to worry about, and they weren't posing a significant enough resistance to stop our spread across the galaxy. However, a faction following a Jedi named Revan sought to sway the minds of the council, and eventually convinced then that fighting back was necessary. The Jedi weren't a whole lot of use on the ground, though they did a better job than the regular soldiers that we had been fighting up to that point. But their real tactical advantage was their commander, Revan."

"Revan was a fearsome leader, and he was able to rally the Jedi to him better than anyone I've ever seen. He challenged Mandalore to a one on one battle aboard his flagship, and Mandalore accepted. Revan boarded, and after a long fight, managed to kill him. Revan took his mask, the mask of Mandalore, and left with it. That mask was the only way to become Mandalore, and without it, the Mandalorian resistance crumpled practically overnight."

"Only one battle was attempted; a massive, final push to defeat the Jedi and Revan. Both fleets traveled to Malachor V, and there began to engage in a massive capital ship battle. It was initially unclear of who would win and lose, but Revan activated an experimental weapon called the Mass Shadow Driver. It created what was essentially a gigantic gravitational field, pulling all ships that were near it into the planet and destroying them, including the Republic's ships and people. Upon seeing the destruction that Revan was capable of committing, and having their fleet decimated, the Mandalorians surrendered."

"That's awful," Phex said once Ordo's story was finished.

"History isn't always pretty." He retorted.

"That's true, but I didn't think that a Jedi would do something like that." Phex said, "I thought that mass killing was against their… I don't know, against their code or something."

"It was, and it wasn't long after that that Revan left the known regions and returned several years later, changed. He and his apprentice had become Sith, and attempted to conquer the galaxy themselves, launching the entire galaxy into a massive war right as they were trying to recover from the last one. They were almost successful too. It's amazing what one person can do to alter the timelines of history."

"I know, it always amazes me when I discover that one person was so influential over an entire galaxy. Like learning how the Emperor came to power."

"Now that is an interesting story. That filthy _cha'kaar_ had everyone fooled. Even the Jedi, and they were supposed to be the most intuitive people in the galaxy. Just look where that got them."

"So, I'm a little confused. Are the Jedi good or bad? Some stories have them as the heroes, but others have them depicted as awful people that wanted nothing but the worst for everyone."

"Well, I wouldn't call them heroes, not as a whole." Ordo said. "Many of them had no idea what they were doing during the war, some thought that ruthless detachment was the best way of coping with having to lead an army into battle, and used that mindset every time they went into battle. But not all of them were ignorant or cruel. Some were exceptionally kind and skilled, and did everything that they could to connect with the men that they led. I knew one that took each soldiers death as a loss of a personal loved one. She was one of the most selfless people that I've ever met, even if we did occasionally have our differences."

"Who was she?" Phex asked.

"Ah, that's a story for another time." Ordo said.

"If you say so. It sounds interesting though." Phex said.

"Oh it's most certainly interesting." Ordo commented. "But not for me to tell. You'll have to ask Darman about that one."

"Huh, so what did Revan say that finally convinced the Jedi council to allow him to go to war?" Phex asked, confused. "It seems like going to war would be something that they would be opposed to."

"Oh they were very opposed to it, but he persuaded them with evidence of past misdeeds by the Mandalorians. In fact, he managed to unearth the worst war crime in Mandalorian history and use it against us."

"What's that?"

"The slaughter of the Cathar species."

"I've never heard of that, what happened?"

"Well, that's a slightly long and horrid story. Want to hear it?"

"Yeah!" Phex said, undeterred.

"So, the Jedi that sided with Revan and believed that they should go to war were called Revanchists. They pretty much followed him everywhere, trying to recruit a larger and larger following to use to convince the council to allow them to go to war. The Revanchists, led by Revan, were on a beachhead on the planet Cathar when they were confronted by an envoy from the Jedi council. The envoy informed them that they were to cease their action at once and return to the council for reassignment. During the disagreement, Revan found a Mandalorian mask under his feet and picked it up. Allegedly, at this moment all Jedi present were thrown into a vision from hundreds of years before."

"In the vision, they saw hundreds of Cathars swarming to a nearby beach, as they were being herded into the ocean by an army of Mandalorians led by Cassus Fett. Allegedly, they were all to be killed for humiliating the Mandalorians in the last war, though the legitimacy of those claims is in dispute. The Mandalorians were intent on slaughtering as many of the Cathars as they could, and they were even proud of this goal, when one Mandalorian female stepped forward and confronted Cassus Fett, demanding that he not do this, as the Cathars were defeated and their genocide was unnecessary."

"Cassus disagreed with her, and informed her that if she would side with the Cathars then she would die with them too. She willingly moved to stand with them, and Cassus ordered his warships to open fire on the group, killing all Cathars present along with the Mandalorian that stood with them."

"That description of the historical event was true, though I don't know if I personally believe that every Jedi there saw the same thing, but that's the event that they claimed to see. Immediately following this vision, Revan put the mask on his face and vowed to wear it until he had fully avenged the Cathars and ensured that the Mandalorians would never be a threat again. The Jedi council, upon learning of the slaughter that had taken place, finally approved of Jedi involvement in the war."

"That's a little scary. I didn't think that Mandalorians sought vengeance on those that defeated them." Phex said once Ordo was finished speaking.

"We don't, but you must remember that Cassus Fett didn't say the Cathars defeated them, he said that they humiliated them. And Mandalorians will never allow themselves to be humiliated."

"Oh, I think I understand the difference now." Phex replied, thinking about this. "So, what happened to the Cathars? Did we kill them all?"

"No, of course not, but we did ravage their planet and kill millions of them. They've rebuilt their society since then though. Though they're fairly uncommon in the galaxy, since they prefer to keep to themselves on their home world. Many people think that it's a shame, as their beauty has been equated to that of Twi'leks for many people, though they didn't used to be. Back when we fought them, and slaughtered them, they were fairly unattractive creatures, covered in tan fur and possessing features that were extremely similar to felines. Though over the last three or four thousand years, one of the species' branches has become a much more human in appearance.

"Huh, okay. That's interesting as well. How was the cake?" Phex asked, changing the subject.

"It was good, you'll have to thank your mother for me." Ordo told him. As he said this, Phex heard steps behind him and turned. He saw Kal Skirata striding through the foyer, dressed in his golden _Beskar'gam_ with his helmet tucked neatly under his arm. Walon Vau was behind him in his jet black armor, his Strill, Lord Mirdalan, following close behind.

"Ah, Ordo, I had hoped to find you here." Skirata said, "We need your assistance. A sniper took a few shots at Ny today, and I need your help in tracking him down and bringing him to me."

"A sniper? Any clues on who it was?" Ordo asked.

"No, though in his haste to run away from the Mandos that immediately began to chase him, he left his rifle. It's made by the Imperials, and I think that it could be either an assassin sent specifically to target her, or a bit of the Imperial Remnant trying to make their presence heard. Could even be someone wanting us to think that the Empire is behind it. I don't particularly care, I just want him brought to me alive."

"Understood." Ordo said. "Phex, it sounds like I might be gone for a little while. I think that your training is complete, and I want you to know that I'm immensely proud of you. You've shaped up to be an astounding soldier, maybe as good as me."

"That's some pretty high praise. You want to take him with you?" Kal asked.

"Do you think that's wise?" Ordo asked. "He's a skilled warrior, but he hasn't really seen direct combat before. And I can only prepare him for so much."

Kal looked him over, seeming to stare through him. He had more combat and social experience than Ordo and Phex combined, and Phex was eager to hear what he had to say about him.

There was only a millisecond's warning; a subtle twitch of the arm, and Phex saw the blade falling from its spot on Kal's forearm and into his hand. Phex stepped to the inside of Kal, moving closer than he would have been able to raise it and moved to knock Kal off balance. Kal was expecting the move, and allowed the blade to complete its drop into his hand as he moved his arm to block.

There was a tense moment of fighting between the two of them, watched by the completely passive Ordo and Vau. The moment was filled with Phex striking at Kal and Kal blocking. At one point, Phex extended his arm, forgetting that Kal was wearing his armor underneath his brown jacket and nearly breaking his knuckles on his forearm when he deflected the blow.

Kal used the momentary lapse in his defense to pin Phex against the wall with his knife raised.

He released him immediately, stepping back and standing next to Vau.

"It was definitely impressive." Vau commented. Mird was next to him, practically bouncing in excitement. Strills loved combat, and Mird was no exception.

"That was extremely impressive, anyone else would have been skewered. As it was, you held your own for nearly twenty seconds, which you filled with constant attacks, which is almost as good as Ordo over here who's able to fully disarm me. If you had had your armor on then your gauntlets would have protected your hand and you wouldn't have gotten momentarily distracted. I'd say that you're ready. I'll contact your father and confirm that you're allowed to go, but I suspect that he'll be fine with it."

"Then it's settled. I have to go back to the house to get my tools, but then we can be on our way." Ordo said, starting for the door.

"Don't worry about it, I had them brought over here." Kal said. Phex followed the three of them outside and saw that they had brought over a heavily modified personal cargo vessel covered in bright red markings. Phex immediately recognized it as Ordo's. Kal stepped off to the side to make a call, presumably to Phex's father.

"Ah, that greatly simplified things."

Kal Skirata walked back to them after a few minutes and informed them of what had been decided on. "He said yes of course, and encouraged you to use anything from your parent's stash that you think you might need. He said that they should all be home in an hour or two, so they'll be home when you get back. Arm up you two."

"Will you be coming with us _buir_?" Ordo asked.

"No, I'm too old to hunt someone down, I'd only get in your way here."

"If you say so _buir_."

Phex knew that this was the closest that Ordo would ever get to admitting that his adopted father was getting old.

Phex watched Ordo head towards the ship that contained his assortment of weapons and armor. He had everything in there: blaster rifles, rocket launchers, sniper rifles, shotguns, blasters, and even a wide assortment of bladed weapons that included a lightsaber he had picked up somewhere in the last few years.

Phex didn't want to waste any time. he knew that if Ordo was willing to take him along, then he expected him to pull his own weight and not hold him up.

He made his way to his room, where he wasted no time in putting on his suit of _Beskar'gam_. It was specially fitted to him, just as all armor was supposed to be, and was modified by the Skirata clan to match the requirements for training that Ordo had wanted him to meet. Vibroblades that could be ejected from the gauntlets, software upgrades in the helmet, and most importantly; aesthetics. His armor was painted black with neon orange accents, signifying justice and a lust for life. It didn't take him long to put it on, and even less time to test the basic functionality.

As soon as his armor was on, he ran to the center of the house where the family weapons vault was, typing in the password quickly. Once inside, he was presented with three dark gray durasteel walls completely covered in various weapons. There was a small door off to the left of the vault that with a separate password. At his request, it was the same as the password on the box that his father had given him: _beskar'gam_.

When he typed it in, the door opened into another, slightly smaller, weapons room that contained Phex's parent's weapons. He walked up to one weapon in particular that he had had in mind on the way here. Well made, sturdy, and highly versatile, he knew that it would be sufficient to get the job done. Plus, he knew that Ordo would appreciate it.

Phex took it, and all of the attachments that went with is as well as the maximum amount of ammunition for it that he could comfortably carry. He already had his two heavy blasters, and felt that he had everything that he would need.

He then made his way back outside to where Ordo was waiting for him along with Kal, Vau, and Ny. Ny was Kal's wife, having married him over a decade ago. They were all close friends of the family, though Vau scared Phex quite a bit. He was known as being a ruthless fighter that would hold nothing back. That included his Strill, which often accompanied him into battle.

"I'll be going with you." Ny stated simply. She was wearing a full suit if _beskar'gam_, and seemed extremely resolute on this matter. Phex didn't see Ordo arguing, and so kept his own mouth shut, despite knowing that she was as old as Kal was, and had never been anywhere near as combat proficient as anyone else there.

"At least as far as town, to show you where the shot came from." She added hastily. "I wouldn't be any use to you in combat."

"That would be appreciated," Ordo told her. "How far it is?"

"Only a few kilometers from here. Not a long walk at all."

"Good. Phex, are you carrying a DC-17?" Ordo asked him, seeming to notice for the first time. Phex could hear the change in Ordo's voice when he asked as he broke into a smile.

"I thought that it would be a good weapon under the circumstances." He responded. He looked at Ordo, noticing that he was carrying a 9118 Heavy Carbine; a weapon with a devastating stopping power. Additionally, he had a blaster strapped to each of his thighs, and a weapon case on his back. "What do you have in the case?"

"Verpine sniper rifle. Extremely accurate, deadly, and silent, but breakable."

"Seems like a good combination." Phex commented.

"They're the best." Kal said. "Is that the one that I gave you?"

"Of course it is," Ordo replied. This caused Kal to take on a proud looking smile. "Alright, let's get over there. The longer we wait, the less likely it is that we'll find him."

Phex and Ordo followed Ny into town and to the spot that she was standing in when the shot was fired. As soon as she showed Ordo where she had been standing, Ordo began to look around and investigate the scene, which was directly in front of a small stall selling freshly grown fruits.

"So you're sure that you were right here when they shot at you? And where did the shot come from?" Ordo asked Ny after examining the scene for several minutes.

"Yes, I was right here, talking to the man that runs this stand." Ny confirmed.

"And the shot came from between those two buildings." The man running the stall added. "Unfortunately I wasn't able to see the shooter due to the distance."

Ordo looked between the shot and the location of the shooter for a moment.

"Either they meant to miss, or they're the worst shot in the galaxy."

"They meant to miss. There were several men that searched the area and found no trace of the shooter except for the rifle." Ny said.

Ordo looked like he was thinking about this for a moment, and Phex took the opportunity to look around the market. It was still packed, despite the incident earlier. Though everyone was wearing armor now, and sporting weapons. Definitely not the typical market scene that Phex was used to. Generally people here wore their street clothes, or at least kept their helmets tucked under their arms. And they hadn't openly carried their weapons since the Empire had left.

"We need to examine the location of the shooter." Ordo declared. "Thank you for your assistance Ny, we'll handle it from here."

"No, thank you Ordo. See you at dinner?" she inquired.

"If not tonight, then definitely tomorrow. It all depends on how far this guy ran."

"Well either way, I'll make sure to bake you a nice bug uj cake!" Ny said, clearly wanting to do something to thank him for his trouble.

"That would be wonderful _Ny'buir_." Ordo said, clearly smiling below his helmet.

Ny left, and Ordo looked around again.

"Everything alright?" Phex asked him.

"No, someone tried to take a shot at _buir _and deliberately missed. They weren't trying to scare her, they were trying to send a message. This person is a professional, and they have a hidden agenda that I'm not looking forward to getting to the bottom of." Ordo said, his voice turning slightly bitter.

"Well, delaying it won't make it any better." Phex reasoned. "Let's go check out the spot that he took the shot from."

They had hardly started forward when a shot rang out. Phex heard a loud grunt, and turned. Ordo was laying on the ground, the left side of his helmet smoking.

"Ordo!" Phex exclaimed, dropping to his side.

"I'm fine, it didn't penetrate." Ordo said, getting up slowly. He turned, and Phex was able to see a neat circle burned into the paint on the side of his helmet.

"Where did the shot come from?" Ordo asked, using his armor's speakers to amplify his voice. Nearly instantly ten people pointed towards a gap between two other buildings, where Phex was just barely able to glimpse a figure disappearing around a corner.

He was about to turn to Ordo to see what his plan was, when he noticed that he wasn't beside him anymore. He looked towards the shooter's position again, and saw that Ordo was already halfway there, already over fifty meters away from Phex.

"Do try and keep up." Ordo joked through their communicators.

"We want him alive." Ordo announced to the crowd as he passed people. They didn't want someone killing the shooter before Kal had a chance to talk to him. No one in the crowd was moving to help. The shooter had attacked, and was now having to deal with the wrath of a Mandalorian, there was nothing that they would do but get in the way.

Phex was running after Ordo, but he was still a hundred meters away when Ordo spoke up over the Comms system.

"Target detained."

When he reached him, he saw Ordo standing over the man, who was face down on the ground and bound tightly in stun cuffs.

"Who are you working for?" Ordo asked him, staying fairly calm.

The man, naturally, said nothing.

Ordo picked him up by the arm, dragging him along behind him into the middle of the market, where there was a large open area. Phex scooped up his rifle, which laid on the ground near where Ordo had apprehended him. The man was dressed in civilian clothing, though the rifle was standard issue Imperial weaponry, just as the other one had been.

"_Kal'buir,_ we need extraction in town. We've apprehended the shooter."

"I'll be there in five minutes."

"He doesn't seem very talkative." Ordo commented.

"Vau will fix that." Kal responded curtly, "I'll see you momentarily. Good work Ord'ika."

He hung up just as Phex and Ordo reached the center of the market. A crowd had gathered, watching the two of them wait for the ship. When it came into view over the horizon, the crowd backed up slightly, making room for it to land. The hatch opened almost instantly when the ship had landed, and Kal strode out of the ship followed closely by Ny, Vau, and Mird.

Many in the crowd began to laugh at the shooter, knowing that the people that he had picked a fight with weren't the kind of people to let you go with a warning.

Kal was angry. He strode straight up to the man and pulled back his fist, smashing it into his stomach and causing the man to double over. Ordo dropped him, and Kal picked him up by the back of his shirt collar.

"Vau," he said, tossing the man towards him. "Find out who he's working for, but make sure he stays alive. I want to talk to him before he dies."

Vau said nothing, merely dragging the man along behind him by the stun cuffs back into the ship. The crowd wasn't laughing now. They knew Vau. They knew his methods of interrogation. They weren't pretty, and rarely left identifiable remains.

"Come on you two, it's nearly dinnertime." Kal said with a smile, gesturing to Phex and Ordo. "And you're both the guests of honor."

"_Buir_ I live there, how can I be the guest of honor?" Ordo joked, clearly amused at the situation.

"Because you caught the filthy rat that shot at my wife. Therefore, you're the guest of honor." Kal retorted, bumping shoulders with him. He glanced at the burn mark on the side of Ordo's helmet and rubbed it slightly with his thumb. "Thank god for _Beskar_ and stupid Imperials that don't realize its strength."

It was interesting to watch the two of them together; Ordo towered over Kal, but he still seemed extremely submissive and respectful towards the man. It was fascinating to see their family dynamic in play. Phex followed them onto the ship, knowing that it would be rude to refuse to come to a dinner that he was so expressly invited to.

It didn't take them long to reach Kyrimorut, and once there, Vau pulled the criminal off into a small shed on the edge of the property, then returned several minutes later and followed them into the main house. They were welcomed warmly and congratulated as soon as they stepped through the front door, even Phex. _I loved coming over here. It's like I'm family._

"You can put your gear in the usual place." Kal told him. He was referring to one of the many unused rooms that they had in the main building, which Phex often used to store the equipment that he brought with him when he came over.

Phex made his way around the circular main hallway to the room where he left everything but the armor that he wore. It was impolite to bring blasters to the table. In addition to the weapons, he left his helmet and gauntlets in the room, as there would be no reason to bring them with him.

Dinner was served not long after that, with everyone that was home attending. It was the one meal of the day that they always ate together when possible. For Mandalorians, dinner was a combination of a strategic planning meeting to discuss upcoming events and even battle plans, and a joyous occasion for everyone to talk about their day and learn about each other's. Tonight's dinner was the latter variety.

_They really do treat me like family_, Phex reflected as they ate. They did their best to treat everyone that walked through the door as a personal friend or relative, and they were exceptionally good at it.

It was odd for him though, to see so many nearly identical faces. Kyrimorut was a safe haven for deserting clones, and from what Phex understood of the situation, Kal and Vau had made it their personal mission to rescue as many as possible. There were many squads there, though some were still incomplete. Delta, Omega, and the Nulls, as well as Corr, who wasn't a special trooper like the others, but was welcomed just as warmly.

The dinner table was huge; large enough to seat all of the clones, as well as Mandalorians that lived there with them, and the wives and children of all that were married. There was even room for several guests.

"How do you produce this much food? The cost has to be excessive!" Phex commented.

"Well, when we left the Republic just before the Empire took over, we made sure that money was never an issue for them. I have our boys to thank for that." Kal said.

"Ah, I see." Phex didn't press the issue. He suspected that he didn't actually want to know how much money they had taken to make sure that they didn't have to work again, while still being able to support this many people.

The dinner was amazing, as it always was in the Skirata household.

"So what did I interrupt earlier today?" Kal asked Phex and Ordo.

"I was just finishing up a history lesson. I was teaching him about the Mandalorian Wars, and how we lost spectacularly to the hands of Revan."

"Ah, always an important lesson." Kal said smiling. "And what did you take away from that Phex?"

"I suppose that it's a lesson to always be prepared for the tide of battle to change, and to never put all your assets into one play."

"Exactly. Always have a backup plan; an escape strategy." Kal gestured to the house around them. "That's why we're here, instead of working for the Empire. We had an escape plan, and we implemented it at just the right moment. _Ba'slan shev'la_, strategic disappearance."

"I also taught him about the Cathars." Ordo said, much quieter this time.

"I see. Also something essential to Mandalorian history. That's a lesson in humility Phex, do you understand why?" Kal asked.

"Yes. You need to remember that while Mandalorian culture is important, and indeed superior in many respects to all others, we aren't perfect, and we've done our share of bad things as well. Always carry a sense of humility with you wherever you go, but only show it at the appropriate time."

Phex nodded in understanding, knowing that what he had said was true, but not quite knowing how to do that yet. _I guess that knowledge comes with age and experience._

"Don't worry, that'll come in time." Kal said with a smile, reading Phex's expression for exactly what it was, as usual.

They finished dinner within the next hour, with side conversations rampant and random. Everyone was talking to someone, and it was invariably about something different than everyone else was talking about. The table was loud, and seemed to Phex to be one of the happiest places that he had ever been. Even though there were dozens of people here, they all knew each other; knew everything about each other, and somehow still managed to find something to talk about that was new and interesting to them.

At one point, he separated himself from conversation altogether and just sat back for a moment, watching the scene before him. Everyone was so.. happy. All of their troubles had been forgotten, and their problems set aside for a moment so that they could spend a few unburdened hours talking and eating with their family.

"Amazing isn't it?" Kal asked, startling Phex. He hadn't heard him come up behind him; the old man still had his tricks.

"Yeah. It's… the most amazing thing that I've ever seen." Was all that he could respond with.

"Never forget this. Family, _aliit_, he only thing worth dying for. Family is the most important thing in the Galaxy; not credits, not power, family. And there isn't always a difference between friends and family, if they're close enough; _aliit ori'shya tal'din._"

"Family is more than blood." Phex repeated, the words numbing him. They touched him, moved him inside. He could feel something change inside him. He turned to ask Kal a question, but he was gone already, sitting back at his spot at the head of the table, several people away from where Phex was seated.

Dinner finished without further eventfulness, and everyone helped to clean up the table and kitchen.

"Ready to head home?" Ordo asked, offering Phex a ride.

"As much as I enjoy visiting you all, I probably ought to head home." Phex said.

"Well, collect your things and meet me in the hangar, I'll fly you back." Ordo instructed, then made his way outside to ready his ship for launch. It was only a ten minute flight, but it would have been a much longer walk. It didn't take Phex long to get his things together and meet Ordo at his ship.

They boarded almost immediately and took off, heading straight there.

"Something's off." Ordo said. "These readings shouldn't be this high."

He was pointing towards a region on the console display that indicated multiple readouts for areas within a hundred kilometer radius of the ship.

"The temperature is too high there, that's right where the Sev'laya clan farm is." Ordo commented offhand. He thought about this for a second, and then opened up the Comms channel.

"_Buir, _we have a potential situation. High heat signatures from the Sev'laya family farm. Could be nothing, but tell Delta and Omega that I want them on combat ready standby."

"Noted," Kal replied, "They'll be prepped and in the hanger in five."

The call disconnected, and Phex noticed that a small knot of worry was forming in his stomach. All he could do was wait, and hope that everything was alright. It was a full seven more minutes before they had visual contact with the area. There was a small amount of smoke rising from where the Sev'laya clan's land was.

"Kal, scramble Delta and Omega. I want them at the Sev'laya family farm in less than five. Smoke rising from the residence. Potential hostile activity."

There was no reply, only the sound of orders being barked at people on the other end of the line before it was disconnected. Phex checked his weapons.

The DC-17 was fully loaded and ready to go, as were both of his heavy blasters. He gripped the rifle in his hands a little bit tighter, and saw Ordo touch the butt of the 9118 Heavy Carbine strapped to his back. Phex could feel that his mind was unfocused, and unable to think about anything other than insignificant details. _He really seems to enjoy that weapon._

As soon as the farm came fully into view, Phex knew that there was no hope. Bodies lay everywhere, and they were numerous. Everything was charred and blackened with smoke, and there were only small parts of the main house left standing.

"_Shab_." Ordo said under his breath. He landed in the middle of the field, on an area that seemed to be lacking in bodies. They dismounted, and could already hear the sound of the Commando's ship heading towards them. Phex looked around. There were dozens of bodies, and they were all wearing Mandalorian armor. There were far more bodies than there should have been.

"The bodies aren't charred. They bombarded the area first, and then sent in ground troops to finish them off." Ordo declared, his voice quiet and shocked. "This had to have happened hours ago, not long after we left."

"Yeah," was all that Phex was able to choke out. He looked around him, taking it all in.

It looked like a lot of the attack was focused on the main house and other structures, as they were hit the worst. Phex was able to make out the outline of a ship that had ploughed itself into the ground nearby, and walked over to it.

It was clearly shot down. That much was obvious by the scoring along the parts of the fuselage that were still visible.

"I'm heading back to the main house, I'm going to see if I can tell what happened." He announced to Ordo. Ordo acknowledged, before turning to meet the Commandos as they landed.

Phex started to jog back towards the main structure, looking at the armor that the people were wearing.

"Ordo, these people have a symbol on their armor, it looks like three scratch marks connected towards the bottom, have you ever seen this before?" he asked, stopping next to one of the bodies to investigate.

He heard a sharp intake of breath from the other end of the line, and Ordo was silent for several moments.

"No, no it can't be. They can't have grown this strong." Ordo whispered. "Get to the main house, and watch out for anything. Switch to your blasters, the Deece doesn't have the stopping power for these assholes. I'm calling Kal, we need backup. Watch for anything, there could be some waiting for us."

No sooner had the words left Ordo's mouth, than the air lit up with blaster fire from what seemed like everywhere. Phex, ignoring Ordo's command, gripped the DC tighter as he slotted on the grenade launcher attachment. He slipped a grenade into the tube, and launched it towards the main building, where a good bit of the fire seemed to be coming from. It stopped, and he holstered the rifle on his back before pulling out his blasters.

He sprinted for his family's to confront any remaining attackers only to find that the grenade had leveled the front of the structure and killed all four of the men that had been clustered together there. All four had the mystery symbol on their armor.

Phex searched what was left of the house room by room, looking for anyone from his family. He found no one. The only room that didn't seem to have some sort of damage was the armory, and that was only because of what it was constructed of. Fifteen centimeters of Durasteel held up quite well to what was essentially light artillery.

Phex opened the armory, knowing that he had to act fast. They was still a good bit of gunfire outside, but he was no use to anyone with only his blasters and the light firepower offered by the DC-17. He left the rifle on the floor of the vault; he was in too much of a hurry to put it away properly right now. Phex selected an extremely unorthodox weapon, but one that he knew would send a message.

He hefted the massive Z6 Rotary Blaster Cannon and made his way back outside. As soon as he was in the clearing, he opened fire. The six barrels started spinning and soon released a barrage of blaster fire towards the tree line, which was where most of the incoming fire was pouring out of.

"Quickly, pick them off while he has them distracted!" Kal yelled. That surprised Phex. _He must have come when Ordo asked him for reinforcements._ Kal's wasn't the only voice that he heard though.

"Hunt Mird, oya!" Vau yelled. Phex saw a dark shape dark towards the tree line and directed his fire elsewhere. It wasn't long before the screams started. Mird was an exceptional hunter.

It wasn't much longer before it was all over, and Phex stopped firing. Suddenly, the weapon in his hands felt extremely heavy, and it was all he could do to prevent it from falling on his toes when he dropped it.

"I want a status report, any injuries, no matter how minor, are to be reported immediately. Then scout the area, make sure every one of those filthy _hut'uun _are dead." Kal yelled. He was furious, angrier than Phex had ever seen him.

"No injuries _buir_," Fi said, standing nearby Omega Squad. They began to comb the tree line for survivors, checking each body carefully.

"Who are they?" Phex asked no one in particular, but no one answered for several seconds.

"Ordo, have you failed in your teaching of this boy?" Kal asked, only half joking.

"No _Kal'buir,_ I taught him, but he's never seen their symbol, or seen their work first hand," Ordo immediately replied.

"I know, that's only natural. I wasn't implying that you were at fault, don't worry. There's a good reason that he hasn't. I didn't think they were this strong." Kal muttered in apology to Ordo.

"They're Death Watch. The most ruthless, evil men in Mandalorian history. They don't believe that we should keep mostly to ourselves. They believe that we need to kick off the Mandalorian wars all over again. They're not opposed to the kind of thing that happened on Cathar. They fully support it." Kal whispered to him, though keeping his voice loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Ordo taught me all about the evils of the Death Watch." Phex said, "But why are they here?"

"Well, your clan started a decently sized anti-Death Watch movement a while ago. It never really played out, but it seems like they really didn't like it."

"I remember them saying something like that," Phex said. "It's… hard to believe that they're all gone."

"_Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'al._" Kal said to no one in particular, but clearly intending to correct Phex's statement. "More names to add to the list."

"_Buir,_ we have a survivor." Ordo informed them, butting in during the lull in the conversation.

"Sev'laya?" Kal asked, hope evident in his voice.

"_Hut'uun._"

"Bring him to me."

His tone had changed. It was angry now, and Phex unconsciously took a step back. It didn't take them long to comply with Kal's request, dragging the man by the armor plate on his back. Corr dropped him in front of Kal unceremoniously.

"Remove your helmet." Kal ordered. The man laughed at him.

Kal gestured to Ordo, and Ordo wasted no time in bashing the man with the butt of his rifle, then dragging him back to his knees and removing the man's helmet himself.

"Why did you attack this farm?"

Kal's voice was cold, and indicated that there would be no room for this man to avoid the question.

"No particular reason. Probably had something to do with how opposed to the Death Watch they were. We're a very proud people you know."

"You have no reason to be. Now, you have two options here. You can reveal as much of the inner structure of the Death Watch as you can remember, or you can die. Think it over, you don't get to change your mind."

The man did actually seem to be thinking about it. It seemed that his convictions weren't as steadfast as he would like them to believe

"No. I'll never give up my heritage." He finally answered.

"You already have. I declare you _dar'manda_. You have accepted a set of ideals that go against the established principals of your people, rejecting the _resol'nare_, and thus losing you both your identity and soul. There will be no glory for you."

The man's face registered shock, he was genuinely upset by this statement. It was permanent, and once said, could not be taken back. It was also not something said often. There was silence in the burned out field; the only noise being the soft crackling of fires that were still burning weakly around the area.

No one dared speak. Kal raised his knife, clearly intending to end the man's life, but stopped himself.

"No, you're not worth it." He whispered, his voice seething. He slipped his knife back into the sheath on his arm and turned. "Come on, we're all going home. We'll come back tomorrow to collect anything that isn't burned up in the fire. The weapons should be safe in the vault for the night."

He started walking back to the ship with everyone else in tow, but Phex lingered behind. He pulled one of his heavy blasters out of his holster. The man on his knees didn't move. He was staring at the ground before him, lost in thought. It wasn't good to be labeled _dar'manda_. It was as good as banishment, but not just from a planet. It was being banished from your culture, your entire way of life, and your afterlife. Phex almost felt bad for him, but he stopped himself. _He's not worth anything now. And he's a murderer._

Phex pulled the trigger once, the shot drilling straight through the man's head and into the ground behind him.

Everyone froze, not daring to take another step, and Kal cocked his head slightly to the side. He listened for a moment before nodding slightly and continuing onward to the ships, gesturing for everyone to follow. They were heading home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Hey, you're Phex Sev'laya right?" A man asked, approaching the table where Phex was seated.

"That's right, and who are you?" Phex asked cheerfully, smiling at the man.

"Ah, sorry, I'm Antares Cenvax. I was hoping that you could help me with something." The man replied.

"Ah, I see. We're you sent to me by a previous client of mine?" Phex sat up straighter in his seat; it wasn't proper to do business slumped over.

"Well, um, no. But I've heard all about you, and I think that you might be the only one that could help me. There's someone that I desperately want killed and–," he didn't give the man time to finish his sentence, stopping him with a raised hand.

"Not interested, I only deal with individuals I've dealt with in the past or people that they send to me. I don't know you, you haven't been directed to me, and I'm not going to take a job for you." Phex stated simply, sitting back and raising the glass in his hand to his lips.

"Two million." Antares said, staying well composed.

Phex inhaled sharply, causing the _tihaar _to flow uncomfortably down his throat, seeming to burn him as it did. After coughing for a moment, he looked up at the man sitting before him, who now wore something resembling a satisfied smirk.

"I'm sorry?" he choked out.

"Two million." Antares repeated simply. "I'm currently holding the bounty for this man at two million standard credits."

"Why is one man that important to you?" Phex asked, finally able to form a coherent sentence.

"I want him dead. He took everything from me, and I want him to die. Originally it was set at one million, but no one could find him, and people stopped trying. Word got out that he was unfindable, and then no one would accept a million for the mission. But then I heard about you, and I hear that you can find anyone. So I'm offering you two million, with half up front to ensure you're properly motivated."

"Okay, I'm listening now."

"Hard credits, half up front, half upon completion." Antares Cenvax lifted the case that he had walked into the cantina with, indicating that he had the first half of the money with him.

"Alright, I'm still listening. So who's the target, and where was he last seen?"

"His name is Xiarr Thek, and he was last seen burning Mandalorian land to the ground on this planet."

Phex was shocked into silence. In the wake of his loss of the Sev'laya's four years ago, he had nearly forgotten the name of the man that had ordered his parent's killed. But the mention of the name brought memories of that day over thirteen years ago flooding back into his mind. His father telling him to run, the shooting, the explosion, and then the man that would wind up adopting him coming to his rescue.

"You want Xiarr Thek, the undefeated Imperial Commander, tracked down and brought back to you?"

"No, I want him hunted and killed. I don't even care if the only recognizable piece that you bring back for identification is his little toe, I just want him dead. My only rule is that you make sure he knows why you're killing him, and bring me back a piece."

"Uh, okay. Do you have anything else to go on? A picture perhaps?"

"Ah, yes, I'll transfer it to your datapad."

There was a moment of silence as the man who was now his client typed in commands, and then Phex received an image. He pulled out his datapad and examined it. _So this is the man that killed my parents._ He mused.

"I'll do it." he informed him. There was no more hesitation, he needed this man dead, and he wanted those credits.

"Good. I expect great things from you, I've heard your work over the last four years has been exemplary."

"It has been." Phex assured him. It was true. He had started accepting bounties four years ago, as a way to distract himself from the death of his adopted clan. He had taken an immediate liking to the business, and had been regularly accepting bounties to pay his expenses for the last four years.

"Then here's the first half of the payment." Antares reached inside the case he had with him, pulling out a million credits in hundred thousand credit chips. "You get the rest on completion of the job."

"And how will I get in contact with you when the mission is complete?" Phex inquired.

"Call me on my personal communicator once you get back to Mandalore. I'll meet you that day to complete your payment."

"Alright, that's acceptable."

"Get to it then, I expect timely completion. Will there be any limitations on how soon you can start?"

"I need to finish up some modifications to my ship, and then I'll be off."

"What are you having done to it?" Antares asked, "I've heard that your ship was already a flying tank."

"Well, only in the sense that it's fast and practically indestructible. The armor, shields, and engines got extensive upgrades when I bought it, and it could already turn faster than most other personal ships on the market, but I just now got around to upgrading the external weapons. Hopefully it'll even the playing field and eliminate the chance of another repeat of the last mission…" Phex trailed off, temporarily lost in thought about having been in a ship to ship fight with practically no weapons.

"And what happened on the last mission?" the man asked with a small smirk.

"A little ambush was waiting for me when I showed up at the pickup point for my payment. I managed to scrape by with the armor, shields, and engines, but it was a little closer than I would have liked. And I almost didn't get paid; had to search the wreckage of the client's ship to scrounge together enough to compensate me. So by tomorrow, I'll have added three more laser cannons, two plasma torpedo launchers, a couple concussion missile launchers, and four ion cannons."

"Think that might be overdoing it?" The man asked. He seemed a little shocked. Hearing Phex talk about killing a client of his most likely putting him off slightly.

"I must not have made it clear just how bad the last mission almost was…" Phex said, trailing off.

"Point taken, I trust you can handle this though?" the man asked.

"Of course, I'll be back here with identifiable remains within a month with luck."

"That soon?" Antares asked in surprise.

"If he's as elusive as you say he is, then it could take a little while, but I do have a slightly better lead on the man in question than you do, so with luck it won't take quite that long."

"That's good to hear." he said, "I'll look forward to hearing from you."

With that, he walked out of the cantina. Phex looked at his drink, swirling the strong colorless liquid around in the glass for a moment before finishing the glass. It burned as it went down, warming his insides.

He then left the cantina as well, heading for his speeder. As soon as he was inside, he headed off towards Kyrimorut, where his ship was undergoing upgrades with the help of the Skirata clan. As he flew, he opened up a private line on his communicator. The man that he called answered almost immediately.

"What can I help you with today _vod_?" he asked.

"Ordo, I have a question. Years ago when we were talking, you mentioned the name of a man, Xiarr Thek. He was the one that killed my parents, remember?"

"Of course I do, he killed hundreds of Mandalorians." Ordo answered.

"Do you know where he went after the Empire left Mandalore?"

"Well, I heard tell that he had been reassigned to Muunilist, but I'm not entirely positive. Though due to the source of my information, the claim likely isn't unfounded. You're not planning on going after him are you? Revenge is a terrible motive, remember I told you…"

"Don't worry, I remember. I'm not going after him for my own personal gain. Someone hired me to kill him. The bounty was too high for me to decline."

"How bad does someone want him?"

"Two million."

There was a low whistle, and then silence for several seconds.

"That's an understandable price to not refuse." Ordo commented. "Let me know if there's anything I can help do to help you prepare before you head out."

"Nothing comes to mind at the moment, but I just might take you up on that offer." Phex replied with a chuckle. "I'll see you at dinner _vod_."

"Absolutely. You take care of yourself."

With that, the conversation ended. It wasn't long after that that Phex reached the hanger where his ship was stored. It was nearby the Skirata clan homestead, and close enough for him to walk over there every morning and night. The separate hangar was used for him to store his bounty hunting gear, as he didn't want to bother them with his comings and goings.

"Ah, you're back. We're almost done here, want to help with the last ion cannon?" Fi asked, gesturing to the small cannon resting on the hoversled beside him.

"You all weren't working while I was at the cantina were you?" Phex asked in surprise. "You shouldn't have, I specifically told you to take a break!"

"Well, we figured you could use the rest. You've been working on this ship for over a week now, we thought you'd appreciate it if we did some of the heavy lifting for you."

"That's extremely kind of you, but you shouldn't have! You've all been working too hard, you should go get a cold drink and let me finish this up!"

"Nonsense," Corr shouted down, standing on top of the ship. "There's only one ion cannon left and then we're done. You should get up here and help us, and then take us out to that Cantina you were visiting earlier!"

"Now that's a good idea!" Atin agreed, grinning widely from next to Corr atop the ship. "Come on up here and help out!"

Phex sighed and made his way to the top of his ship, _Mirjahaal_, standing next to Atin and waiting for Fi to raise the cannon up with the repulsorlift .

It took him a few minutes, but then it was on its way up, and Phex found himself unloading it and fastening it to the ship's hull.

"Alright, I'll head in and attach the internal components." He said after a few minutes. "Get yourselves cleaned up and I'll meet you back at the house for dinner. We'll head to the Cantina afterwards."

"Aw, we were just kidding about that _vod_, you don't have to take us anywhere special." Atin exclaimed, slapping him on the back. "We're just here to help out!"

"I know, and that's why insist! I'm rewarding you for helping out when you didn't need to. Money's not a problem, trust me!"

"Well, if you insist that we go to a bar with you later, then I guess we can't refuse!" Fi said, "Don't complain about free drinks!"

They finished up the work on the ship in less than an hour, and Phex booted up the systems to make sure everything was connected properly. Once he had ensured that it was, he headed off to dinner with a huge smile on his face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Phex left Mandalore the next morning, taking off from the hangar that his ship was docked in. He had said his goodbyes before leaving, especially to Omega, thanking them for their help with installing the weapons on his ship. Unexpectedly, both Jaing and Kal had had something for him.

"What are these?" he asked.

"Two security spikes," Jaing replied with a smile.

"Well, I mean clearly they are, I meant what do they do specifically?" Phex asked with a laugh.

"Oh, right, well I took a look at the security on board your ship and used a blueprint of your system to construct the gray one," Jaing informed him. "If you plug that into your system, it will automatically shut and lock all doors indefinitely unless you deactivate it with a password."

"What's the password?" Phex asked.

"Same one you use for everything. You really should consider using something else sometimes you know."

"I know I should, but it's not high on my list of things to do right now."

"Understandable. So, the black spike is essentially a standard security spike. Plug it in and it'll disable any security system in the galaxy, and both can be used more than once. Ooh, be careful though. The gray one will activate the interior auto cannons too."

"Will they target me?"

"Of course not, but they'll target anyone else in the ship, including droids. It'll also install the latest auto targeting software. Initially it'll just target them, but if it detects a weapon, it'll shoot to kill."

"Noted, thank you! That was really thoughtful of you." Phex told him.

"Well, I made a pair for almost everyone, I just gave you yours first," Jaing said with a chuckle.

"Well, I should be off. I need to get as big of a head start as possible on this. There's no telling how long this one could take."

"See you when you get back." Ordo told him.

"Don't get too cocky, always keep your guard, and take this with you." Kal said to him. He was holding a long _beskad_ in his hands. Traditional weapons of Mandalorians, _beskad _were longer, slightly curved blades that were forged from Mandalorian Iron. They were hard enough to deflect a lightsaber, and sharp enough to cut through just about anything as long as the user had the strength to wield it properly.

Phex had trained extensively with blades like this one, but had only seen this one being used by another man, his adopted father.

"I thought that this was lost in the fight that he died in." he said numbly.

"We found it, but it was damaged. I had it sent off for repair, and only got it back a few months ago. I've been waiting for the right time to give it to you." Kal said quietly.

Phex reached out, accepting the blade from Kal. He slid it out of its sheath, examining the blade, then slipped it back in and secured it on his back. He hugged Kal tightly, thanking him profusely.

He then made his way out to his ship, performing his standard pre-flight checks.

Everything passed with flying colors, and he taxied the ship out into the open, then sealed the hangar up.

Phex took off, heading out of orbit to a point far enough outside of the planet's gravity well for him to be able to jump to Hyperspace. As soon as he was, he made the jump; the tiny dots of stars turning into streaks outside the viewport.

The trip to Muunilist was mostly uneventful, only taking three days traveling along established Hyperspace routes. He spent the time preparing what he would take with him when he went planetside, and then reading up on Muunilist. It was always smart to read up on the planet you were going to, at least to get an idea of the current events and learn about common laws on the planet. It wouldn't do to arrive there and find out that weapons were outlawed.

He couldn't find anything too troubling, though weapons were perfectly legal, though there were serious repercussions against anyone that used them. Phex noticed that there were several documents that went over the continued Imperial presence across the planet. They didn't mind them being there, as they were the home of the InterGalactic Banking Clan, and thus the banking capital of the Galaxy. The Imperials were heavy spenders.

Overall, the trip was uneventful and slightly dull, and Phex ran out of things to do after a day or so. He resorted to exercising, keeping himself well trained was essential in his line of work. _Sometimes I wish I had a partner; someone to keep me company when I'm on long trips like this one._ He dismissed the idea as ridiculous for now. Firstly because he would have to find someone that he trusted enough to accompany him, and secondly because that would mean a splitting of the profits.

The ship alerted him when it was nearly time to drop out of Hyperspace, and he settled into the pilot's chair.

Phex dropped out of Hyperspace a good ways away from the planet as he didn't know how the Muuns felt about unexpected visitors dropping in. Sure they were the banking capital of the galaxy, but that may well mean that all the visitors that they received were planned far in advance. He checked his transponder, ensuring that it was displaying the code for a civilian ship. it didn't take long for the Comms channel to light up.

"Pilot of the civilian vessel _Mirjahaal_, please state your name and business on Muunilist," a wheezy, barely understandable individual stated in basic.

"Phex Sev'laya, and I'm here to visit a friend."

"We have two levels of spaceport available for unexpected visitors to the planet. Generally the Standard Spaceport is preferred, as it is slightly cheaper. Is this acceptable, or would you rather be placed in the Imperial Class Spaceport?"

"No, the Standard Spaceport should be fine." Phex assured the man. Cheaper was generally more preferable unless a more expensive service was necessitated. The recently installed security system made the lower security level offered by the Standard Spaceport irrelevant.

"Understood, what is your destination?"

"Near Harnaidan." Phex stated, knowing that the capital city was likely as good a place as any to start looking.

"Very well, please follow the designated route to your landing platform." The man had hardly finished speaking when the navigation console chirped at him, indicating that it had received the directions.

Phex allowed the autopilot to fly him to the landing zone, but switched to manual for the landing itself.

As soon as he landed Phex stood up, picking up his helmet, which had been resting on the seat next to him. He put it on as he exited his ship, then allowed his hands to drift to his sides; checking that his twin heavy blasters were strapped to his thighs where they should have been.

There was a Spaceport representative waiting for him at the landing pad exit that strode up to him as soon as Phex exited his ship.

"Hello, welcome to the Harnaidan Public Spaceport. Our docking fee is one hundred credits per day, paid in advance or upon departure."

"I'll pay for two days now, but I might stay a little longer." Phex told the man, holding out two hundred-credit chips. The man took them, storing them in the pouch at his waist. He then typed something into his datapad.

"Now I'm obliged to inform you that while weapons are permitted, violence is not and will result in either jailing or banning from Muunilist, depending on the severity of the infraction." The man said this while eyeing Phex's blasters slightly uneasily.

"Got it," Phex said, making a show of reaching down and flicking off his blasters, hearing them power down almost inaudibly.

"Very good, in that case, feel free to enjoy our beautiful planet. Speeders can be rented form the main offices to the right of the exit!" the man walked away, and Phex wasted no time in leaving the Spaceport, renting a speeder to get into the city.

The ride was short, as the Spaceport was practically touching the outer limits of the city. Phex parked on the outskirts of the city at a small speeder parking lot, knowing that he would be more productive on foot than he would be in a vehicle.

He passed several people of various species as he walked towards the center of the city, a sense of unease building up inside him as he went along. It wasn't the walking that was bothering him, as he could walk as far as thirty kilometers without needing to stop and rest, it was the looks that he was getting from the people around him.

The Muuns were the worst. The species, native to Muunilist, were usually very well composed, giving them a distinctive advantage when conducting the business deals that they always seemed to be involved in. Now however, they were staring at him as he passed, and were even casting weary glances at him over their shoulders.

_The armor's spooking them. They're either not used to seeing a Mando in full _beskar'gam_, or they have a preconceived notion that wherever Mandalorians go there's trouble. Of course, that's not far off…_

He knew that he would have to leave the armor behind next time he went out, but until then he would just have to do as best he could with it on.

Phex removed his helmet, tucking it loosely under his arm. He grinned slightly and walked a little slower, casually strolling down the street. The odd looks lessened, though there was still the occasional individual that would eye him uneasily as they passed.

It wasn't long before Phex spotted a group of Muuns standing on a corner discussing something. He approached them, knowing that someone native to the planet was more likely to be able to answer his questions.

"Excuse me, but I was hoping that you could help me." He said, walking up to him.

"Ah, hello. Yes, it is entirely possible that we will be able to assist you. We're representatives of the InterGalactic Banking Clan, are you wishing to conduct a business transaction?" one of them inquired.

"No, no, nothing like that." Phex informed them. "I was just hoping that I could ask you a couple of questions about the local area."

"Ah, well I suppose that we could assist you with that." The one that had spoken before said. He seemed to be the most talkative of the group, and Phex began directing his questions to him.

"I noticed that everyone that I've seen so far has appeared to be at least moderately well off, and that caused me to wonder about the lower classes. Surely even a city as marvelous as Harnaidan has individuals that are less well off. Where might I go to find them?"

"Oh, a man like yourself wouldn't want to associate with the lowlifes and scum that make up the lower classes. You would be much better suited to the company of the wealthy and powerful."

"Well, while I thank you greatly for your apparent praise, I would like to add that I merely wish to gather information on the local area, and it has been my experience that the lower classes have some of the best information for the lowest process with no questions asked."

"I see. Yes you would be correct about that. In that case, I would recommend looking in the caverns below the city. The lower classes tend to spend their time down there, either collecting Algae and Mollusks to sell to the upper class restaurants or scavenging and selling things to the other lower class individuals."

"Thank you very much. Also, how problematic is organized crime, or crime of any sort really?"

"Almost nonexistent. Especially organized crime. If you're looking for that, you should try Hutt space." The Muun said with a slight sneer. Clearly the Hutts weren't much loved around here. "We used to have some, but after Harnaidan was leveled in the Clone Wars it disappeared. There was no reason for it to stick around. It hasn't come back yet, and I would have to ask you to not go out of your way to initiate it. It has been relatively peaceful around here in the last few years, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that we would like to keep it that way."

"That's not going to be a problem, organized crime just makes my job more difficult. I tend to be hired to take care of organized crime syndicates." Phex told him.

"And what exactly is your job?" the talkative Muun asked.

"Those are the kinds of questions that I'm hoping to avoid by talking to the lower classes,: Phex said with a chuckle. "Thank you for your help. Here's a little something for your troubles, and to help reduce your curiosity about my line of work."

He passed each of them a hundred credit chip. All three accepted them graciously, pocketing them in silence and nodding slightly.

Phex continued on down the street knowing full well that they were staring after him, and hoping that the credits that he had given them would be sufficient enough to buy their silence for now.

_I should have asked them how to get to the caverns beneath the city, not I'm just going to have to hope that I can find them on my own._

Phex kept walking down the street, sticking mostly to the outskirts. _There's no way that the Muuns would want the lower classes going in and out of the inner city if they could avoid it. they would have built the entrances somewhere out here._

He hadn't been walking for more than ten minutes when he spotted a large rundown lift entrance. It was labeled as leading to the caverns. _That's exceptionally lucky_. He thought to himself.

Phex stepped into the lift, pressing the down button. There were only two levels: up and down. The ride down was quick and painless, despite the grungy state that the lift was in.

The doors opened into one of the most beautiful areas that Phex had ever visited.

The cavern that he stepped out into was massive, stretching at least five stories up in some places, and the walls and roof sparkles with crystals that were likely worth very little. A large body of water covered much of the ground, going deeper than Phex could see in some places. There was a green moss growing inside it that gave off a strong bioluminescence that would have been sufficient enough to light up the entire cavern. There were several natural looking lights spread around the area, lighting the cavern well enough for him to be able to see clear to the other side.

There were several natural tunnels leading off in different directions, presumably to other caverns. There were people everywhere, and Phex could see that they were all working hard. There was no one that was slacking off or sitting around. Every single one of the people down here was determined to get something done and bring in a profit. Even the merchants were nearly constantly busy, and seemed to be fairly accommodating in their variety of stocks. There were multiple different species that Phex could spot as he made his way into caverns, hoping to find someone that wasn't too busy to talk to him for a little bit.

The first person that he passed who didn't look too busy was one of the vendors. He was set up with only the essentials: a small seat, a large pack, and two lockable crates to store his wares in. He wasn't currently buying or selling anything to anyone, so Phex felt that it was safe to assume that he would be willing to answer a few questions. He looked up expectantly when Phex approached him.

"You look like the kind of man that's looking for information." He said, before Phex had even opened his mouth to speak.

"I'm guessing that you're somewhat familiar with people like me."

"Not like you exactly. I don't think that I've seen a Mandalorian down here." The man said, "Mostly it's just the imperials down here to bully us and force us to give them information on the current events. Not that we know much about the lives of the wealthy and influential. Though they seem to forget that every time we tell them."

"Do they come down here often?" Phex asked the man.

"With a good bit of regularity. Every week or so, sometimes more often."

"Well, hopefully I'm a little nicer than they are. I dislike forcing people to give me information. More often than not they just spout something out that's entirely untrue and you wind up wasting your time and making people more suspicious of you. I prefer to ask questions, and then pay the person a reasonable sum of money based on how much I learned from that person."

"Well if that's true, then I think I'll get along much better with you than the Imperials. What can I help you with?"

"I'm looking for information on the Imperials, one Imperial in particular, though any information on troop movements or where they like to spend their time would be helpful as well."

"Well, I'm not sure that I would be the best person to ask about that. I don't typically associate with them; they dislike that I sell things to cheaply to the people down here." The man admitted.

"What do you mean?" Phex asked.

"Well, I grew up here, alongside people just like this; scavenging for delicacies that we can never afford to eat, in the hopes that we'll have enough money at the end of the month to pay our debts and still eat. I became a smuggler as soon as I could, working hard to move shipments of anything I could across borders so that I could amass more money so I could move more shipments to make more money."

"I realized that it was all pointless several years ago." The merchant continued, "So I sold everything, made a good bit of money off of it, on top of what I had saved up before I quit. Would up having several million credits. So I decided to come back here and help people. Of course, they would just refuse outright charity, so I sell them things as ridiculously discounted prices."

"So, you basically give them the things that they need to survive and make money." Phex asked, surveying the assortment of gear before him. The man was selling mostly diving gear, things that the lower classes would need to go down into the depths and collects the things that they would sell to upper class restaurants.

"Yes, I enable them to survive. These things would cost them hundreds of credits anywhere else. Here they can get them for twenty to eighty, depending on the item." The man seemed extremely proud of this.

"Well, seems awfully noble of you. But we seem to be getting off track. What can you tell me, if anything, about the imperials?" Phex asked.

"Well, not much honestly, I already told you nearly everything that I know. I don't associate with them, since they're not too fond of me. They tend to harass me whenever they're down here. All I can tell you is that the new management is a little less harsh."

"What new management?"

"The imperial garrison here used to be led by someone that was extremely harsh, but he was replaced about two years ago. It was tough times before that though, let me tell you."

"That's interesting, do you know anything more than that?" Phex pressed.

"No, that's pretty much everything I know." The man said. "Though if you're still needing information, I would recommend talking to Lyra. She gets harassed pretty badly by the imperials, I'm sure she'd be more than happy to help you out."

"Where could I find her?"

"If you go through the first branch off this cavern, it'll lead to a long tunnel that opens up into another cavern. She usually scavenges there, I would look there first."

"Thank you, here's something for your troubles." Phex said, handing the man a hundred credit chip: the lowest amount that he gave people for information.

He walked off, following the man's instructions and taking the first tunnel that he came across. It was long, as the man had said; easily two kilometers. When he came out into the openness of another cavern, he immediately spotted several people hard at work collecting what appeared to be a soft green glowing algae. There was another vendor set up near the entrance of the tunnel he had exited, and he approached the man immediately.

"Do you know where I could find Lyra?" he asked.

"Who wants to know?" the man asked him, eyeing his blasters wearily. Phex sighed to himself. _I should have known that this would have been a problem eventually._

"I just want to ask her a few questions, I'm not here to harass her."

The man said nothing for several long moments, eyeing him closely. Phex decided that he wasn't going to tell him what he needed to know and decided to intervene.

"Listen _utreekov_, I get that you want to protect her. I know people that I'd like to protect too. I'm hoping that she can give me information on the Imperials that I can use against them. I'm not here to get her in trouble, or hurt her, or do anything stupid like that. So all I need you to do is to point her out to me."

The cavern had grown silent, causing Phex to grow slightly quieter as he spoke, though he didn't notice the silence until he had finished speaking.

"And how, exactly, are you planning on using this information against us?" a man asked from behind Phex. Phex stiffened, then turned finding himself face to face with five men in sloppy imperial garb.

"In whatever manner I see fit." He told them, carefully leaving any sort of emotion out of his voice.

"Well maybe it would be better if we talked to her first, just to make sure that you don't find anything too… interesting." The man said with a sneer. He was clearly the leader of the pack, as the other four seemed to be taking their cues from him. At this, they all hefted the weapons that they were carrying, attempting to look as menacing as possible. Phex was distinctly unimpressed.

"Now, now," he said, "Let's not forget that violence can result in jailing or banishment from the planet."

"Maybe for you, but imperials like us are important. We are the law here."

"Well, that may be, but laws apply to everyone, including you." Phex stated. He casually reached down and flicked on his heavy blasters, then reached up and unclipped the saber that was strapped to his back. "Of course, one can always hope that more civil ways to resolve problems could be found."

He reached into his belt and came back up with five hundred credits in his hand. One of the men to his left eyed it greedily, but the leader was unfazed.

"You think that a few credits will save you?" he shouted, slapping them out of Phex's hand. "I will not stand by and allow you to plot against the Empire! Kill this man, and then find anyone that has helped him and bring them to me!"

Phex sighed, and then pulled his blasters. The men were past the point of reasoning, and he knew that any bargaining that he attempted after this point would be futile. He tried anyway.

"Last chance, lay down your blasters and walk away."

"Kill. Him." the leader managed to spit out through clenched teeth. He practically spat the words.

One of the men to Phex's right was tightening his finger on the trigger of his small blaster. He didn't give him the chance to finish the action, firing his own blaster. He shot four times, each shot hitting their mark with excellent precision.

There was only the leader left now, and he seemed to be in a state of shock. He reached behind him, presumably to pull a blaster, only to come back up empty handed. He had no weapons. _He ordered me to be killed, and I'll most definitely be reported if I let him go. He's between me and a million credits, and I could die._ There was no other solution. Phex shot him too.

The cavern was silent for several long moments, and Phex found that he was holding his breath. He looked around, ensuring that no one was raising a hand to stop him, but there were no Imperial sympathizers down here.

"Sorry about the mess." He said to the shop owner in front of him. "Here's something for the trouble."

He tossed five hundred credits to the man, who caught them numbly, hardly glancing at them. He seemed to be in shock, and Phex snapped his fingers before him.

"Oh, no, don't worry about that. We'll hide the bodies in one of the lakes. They can get quite deep in some places, no one will ever find them."

"That would be appreciated." Phex said, "I'd hate to get any of you in trouble."

"Oh no, no, we'll be fine. And you can find Lyra right over there; she's the one sitting on the side of the lake. She works harder than all of the others combined, but even she needs a break."

Phex walked towards the individual sitting down, his sense of dread growing as he walked. The shop owner had been difficult to deal with, he hadn't trusted him in the slightest. But this woman, Lyra, could prove far more problematic. At least she would if she had any sense of the history of her species.

"Hello, how can I help you?" She asked as he got closer.

"I uh, was hoping for information on the imperials," Phex stated rather quietly.

"Well then you've come to the right person, I know more about them than anyone else down here." The Cathar, Lyra said. "What do you need to know?"

_She either doesn't know about the tension that should exist between our peoples, or she doesn't believe in continuing the animosity. Either way I seem to have caught a break._

"I was hoping that you could give me information on a single man, but failing that it would help to know locations of Imperial strongholds in the area where I could find data on him."

"It's possible that I can help you, what's the name of the man you're looking for?" she asked.

"Xiarr Thek."

She inhaled sharply, then took a half step back from him.

"Why do you want to know about this man?"

"Because I've been paid to kill him." Phex told her.

She thought about this for a moment, staring at him closely, as if trying to decide whether or not to trust him. Eventually she spoke again.

"I had hoped to never hear that name again. Xiarr Thek was the leader of the Imperial garrison on Muunilist several years ago, but was eventually replaced. He was extremely brutal, and was sadistic enough to even kill several people down here when they didn't submit to him. He was the man that started the harassment of the lower classes in Harnaidan."

"So what can you tell me about him, other than that? Specifically, I'm hoping for information that would help me find him."

"I don't know if I can help you find him, but I know someone that might be able to. There's an Imperial informant holding a decently high position in the garrison stationed here. I'm good friends with him, and I could get you in touch. He's usually very sympathetic to the lower classes, and I'm sure that he could be… persuaded to help you."

"I'm guessing that that would require credits?" Phex asked.

"Well, that's a possibility…" Lyra said, trailing off. "But it's more likely that he would ask you to do a favor for him. Apparently the Empire keeps a close eye on the spending of their employees."

"Well I suppose that I could handle that, as long as it was nothing too extreme. Is there anything else that you could help me with?" Phex asked. He found himself unconsciously attempting to extend the conversation as much as he could. Lyra was… well she was the kind of individual that people wanted to be around.

_Ordo was right all those years ago when he said that one of the branches of the Cathar species had grown more similar to humans in appearance. She's strikingly pretty, and intelligent._

"I don't know, is there anything else that you need help with?" Lyra asked brusquely, clearly wanting to get back to work collecting algae.

"Well, not particularly, no. I did have one question though. Why are you here? You seem like you're highly intelligent, and beautiful. I'm sure that you could get a whole host of jobs that would pay better than this."

"Oh I could for sure, but I enjoy the work. And the atmosphere. I get along with people better down here, they understand me. Plus, most people don't find Cathars attractive; they just see us as another species to be subjected. And before you say anything, I saw that guilty look flash across your face. Yes, I know about what happened a couple thousand years ago. But from what I've heard, your culture seems to have progressed from that primitive aggressive expansionist phase, and isn't as ruthless anymore. So I don't see any reason to hold a grudge, unlike most of my species."

"I see…" Phex said. That was a lot to take in at once, and he took a brief second to mentally review all that she had said, filing away the important bits for later. "So I suppose I'll be off then, if you could give me the information to contact him."

"He likes to spend his down time at the cantina on the off skirts of Harnaidan. And he gets off every day at five. You can usually find him there between seven and ten. His name is Oran Lucero, mention that I sent you to him."

"Thank you. I'll contact him immediately. Here's a little something for your trouble, I apologize for taking up so much of your time." Phex passed her a stack of credits, three hundred. Her eyes widened, and she looked to be in awe of the amount of money that he was giving her.

"I can't take this, this is too much." She insisted.

"No, no, I insist. You gave me valuable information, and I always pay people that help me. So take them. Consider it as recompense for the time of yours that I wasted."

"You didn't… I hardly make this much in two weeks of productive work." Lyra told him. She spoke quietly, still surprised at the amount being offered to her. "Thank you."

She tentatively reached out towards the credits, as if afraid that he would jerk them away. He held them steadily, patiently waiting for her to take them. He lowered his hand to his side once she had accepted them.

"I'll find you again if he's able to provide me with viable information. You'll receive another three hundred for providing me with such an important lead." Phex informed her.

"Thank you." She said, seemingly worn out by the interaction.

"Don't thank me, you're the one that helped me." Phex said. He left without another word; afraid of saying something that would make him look like an idiot. He had to get back up to the surface and find that cantina; it was nearly eight, and he would need to change into civilian clothing if he were successfully remain undetected while investigating. _Why did I enjoy talking to her that much? Am I really that starved of contact with people when I'm on missions?_ He decided that he was, and once again thought about the possibility of hiring a partner to accompany him.

He mulled over the concept as he made his way back to his ship.


End file.
